“THE PRINCE” faces old enemies for taken daughter

Director Brian A. Miller dives headlong into the gritty underworld of territorial gangsters and revenge in the action-thriller, “The Prince.” Paul Brennan (Jason Patric) is a former mob enforcer with two decades between him and an awful mistake that took the lives of Omar (Bruce Willis), a very powerful man’s family.

“When Paul’s daughter goes missing in the city where he is a wanted man, he has to go back into this past,” begins Miller. “Bit by bit, as we pull that string, it leads us to all these new dimensions, back into the sins of his past life as he seeks redemption for the mistakes he had made. It’s a genre story turned upside down on its head, and that really attracted me to the script.”

“When Angela (Jessica Lowndes) first meets Paul he is just Beth’s (Gia Mantegna) dad, this mechanic from Mississippi; I don’t really know what I got myself into,” begins Lowndes, whose character comes off as the quintessential party girl, always chasing the next high. “Paul offers up this road trip to New Orleans to find his daughter and Angela thinks why not, let’s go party and have fun. But it turns out we have people chasing us and he is this bad ass and he’s killing people.”

John Cusack plays Sam, an old friend or associate of Paul’s. When he comes back to town and gets into trouble he asks Sam for a favor because of their prior association,” begins Cusack, whose character is reminiscent of Rick in Casablanca. “It’s a troubled relationship because of Paul’s past.” Paul and Angela make their way through the luxurious lobby of the Sam’s Goldmine Casino and Hotel. In the presidential suite, Paul explains that his daughter has gotten herself in with a bad crowd and someone called The Pharmacy. Sam knows the lunatic and can’t get involved, much less even be seen with Paul, who understands and explains he just needs a safe place for Angela. As Paul leaves, Sam warns that a lot of their guys are now with Omar.

Miller shot the film on locations throughout Mobile, Alabama. “I have to say, the production value that we got from Mobile is quite spectacular,” says Miller enthusiastically of the city that turned itself into a back lot and doubled as New Orleans for a large portion of the shoot. Adds producer Randall Emmett, “Brian fell in love with Mobile and thought it was just ideal for The Prince. The city worked with us and the community really embraced us, so it made our production really work.”